Rehab: Over the Edge
by HarpersauruS
Summary: Sakura is a junkie who gets sent away to get clean.At rehab she meets some people that are worse off than she is, can she follow through the AA and NA meetings and help save another. junkie love is so addicting! SakuraxGaara
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer; I do not own the characters I'm about to use….**

**REHAB: OVER THE EDGE**

**By HarpersauruS**

**CHAPTER #1 **

**Cold…..cold…**

**It was so fucking cold!**

_**Where am I?**_

**Cold……**

**Why can't I feel my legs?**

**I could hear sirens but they sounded far away in the distance…**

**I tried to open my eyes but that hurt too much so I kept them I could feel hands touching me, trying to lift me. I wanted to tell them to leave me alone but my mouth wouldn't open. I felt myself being put on something soft and covered with a blanket. **

**That still didn't help the cold.**

…**cold…….so cold….**

**I couldn't stop shivering, and then everything went black. **

**#&$$&&&$(**

**_Beep…..beep………..beep…beep.._**

**I finally became conscious of the fact that I was breathing…**

**I became conscious that I was lying in something warm and soft…**

**_Beep….beep………..beep…beep.._**

**_What was that noise?_**

**Opening my eyes was more difficult than normal and the millimeter I managed to crack open brought in a blinding white light.**

**Shutting them immediately, I focused on my breathing.**

**_Beep….beep………..beep…beep.._**

**I could feel my heart beating and that meant that I was still alive…**

**Alive….**

**_Beep….beep………..beep…beep.._**

**I tried to open my eyes again, bracing myself for the brightness.**

**They opened slowly trying to adjust to the light. Squinting from my lying position I observed that everything was white. I was in a small room in a twin bed with white sheets, there was a bed table with a vase of flowers and tacky pictures of beach scenes and sailboats on the walls. The source of light was coming the huge window in the corner, it's curtains were fully drawn back.**

**_Beep….beep………..beep…beep.._**

**Looking to my left I located the heart monitor that was making that repetitive sound. I lifted my hand to adjust my bangs and saw the i.v and the hospital bracelet.**

**Sakura Haruno**

**MR 00359640**

**17 F 03/15/1989**

**New York Public Hospital**

**What the hell happened!? **

**That last thing that she could possibly remember was going to her best friend Ino's apartment party, 3****rd**** floor in the SoHo district.**

**_Everybody was crammed into the studio; there was loud music, unlimited drinking and unlimited drugs. All of the friendly neighborhood dealers were invited so they knew that they would e provided with the necessities._**

**Wrapping the blanket tighter around herself, she tried to recall last night's events.**

**_She had brought an 80 oz bottle of vodka and started taking shots as soon as she entered the apartment. Mingling with the crowd she soon found herself included in a joint rotation, taking some goods hits she danced off again for some more shots. Later on she went into Ino's room where she found her, another girl and a guy doing lines. Accepting the straw she helped them finish the 8-ball. Whipping her nose she twirled out of the room for some more alcohol. After midnight a dealer came with an ounce of chronic to spare so Ino brought out the Hookah and they smoked it all. Not just ready to pass out yet, Sakura untangled herself from the stoned mass on the couch _**

**_And found her bottle of 90 proof vodka still 1/5 full, taking it with her on to the balcony outside for a cigarette, she just downed the whole thing. Her throat was already numb so she couldn't feel the burn. Trying to stand up the world spun, gripping the rail of the balcony she leaned over, hazily admiring the beautiful hypnotic lights of the city…_**

**_Then everything went blank….._**

**Then what? **

**I was on the balcony, then what?!**

**Sakura was used to partying hard, she had been doing it since she was 13; Booze, pot, coke, acid, ecstasy, shrooms and hundreds of pills she had simply swallowed, it had always been part of her life. She had been stealing sips of drinks from her parents formal dinner parties at the age of 9, her first middle school boyfriend was in the 8****th**** grade when she was in the 6****th****, introduced her to pot because he was dealing. In the 7****th**** grade, her best friend Ino quickly lost all of her baby fat and became one of the most sought after girls in school. Sakura kept asking her what kind of diet or exercise she was using but when Ino showed her a little plastic baggie half full with white powder, Sakura got onto the same "diet" as her.**

**Coming into High school she made friends with dealers, junkies, white heads, rock heads and pot heads, anything she wanted or needed she had a hook-up. Her grades no longer mattered, all she cared about was getting fucked up and having a good time. She would often wake up on a school morning, not knowing where she was or where her pants had disappeared to. A couple of times she woke up next to a stranger in their bed, quietly she would gather her clothes and any money she found lying around.**

**More than once she would wake up in the middle of the night to vomit whatever she had put into herself earlier, sometimes there was blood. Ignoring it, she would flush the evidence and pass out again.**

**Now here in the hospital Sakura was left to wonder what went wrong within her normal pattern of life. Looking out the window at the skyline she heard the door to her room open.**

"**Oh! You're finally awake!"**

"**Ino! Hey, what happened?"  
"….You don't remember...no one has told you anything yet?"**

"**No! I just woke up. How long have I been here?"**

"…**.3 days….."**

"**What! 3 days! Ino what the fuck happened to me?!"**

"**You fell Sakura..."**

"**I, what?"**

"**You fell Sakura! You fell 3 stories off my balcony! You're lucky you landed on your back in some of the garbage in the alley, but you've been unconscious for these past 3 days…"**

"…**But, how did I fall? I remember holding onto the rail and looking out into the city, then everything goes blank..."**

"**Shikamaru saw what happened, he said that you were sitting outside smoking a cigg, then you had some difficulty standing up…you started to lean over the balcony and he thought that you were going to throw up but instead you kept leaning….and then you disappeared."**

"…**I went over the edge?..."**

"**Yeah…"**

**They just sat in silence staring at one another.**

"**This is bad, do my parents know?"**

"**Unfortunately, I had to call them, I panicked, I thought you had died, I was all coked up and there was so much blood everywhere.."**

"**Fuck!"**

**Sakura lifted her arm with some stiff pain, feeling the bandages on her head.**

"**Do I look bad?"**

"… **I didn't think it was possible, but your forehead has gotten even bigger."**

"**Ino!!"**

"**Just kidding! When the bandages come off you'll look fine, there's no damage to your face except a couple of small scratches and you're lucky that after that fall you only twisted your arm and sprained you ankle. Obviously you'll be having some back pains but other than that you'll be better in no time!"**

"**Yeah, thanks…"**

**Ino took Sakura's hand and brought it to her heart, both smiling and glad that she had survived that incredible fall. Then a look of pained recollection crossed Ino's face.**

"**Sakura, I overheard you parents talking."**

"**What did they say?"**

"**Well your mom was in tears, they never even knew about all the stuff we do. They found out from the blood and urine tests, everything showed up in your system!"**

"**Shit!"**

"**Your father was furious, he was about ready to disown you but your mom talked him out of it."**

"**Oh, good, but I don't know if I can face my parents after this fiasco.."**

"**You won't have to."**

"**Huh?"**

"…**..They're sending you to rehab.."**

**(TWO WEEKS LATER)**

**The bandages were off, her bags were packed and Sakura found herself in a cab headed for the mountains in northern Albany. **

**Her parents simply didn't know how to deal with her so they were shipping her off to the middle of nowhere.**

"**There probably won't be any electricity and they won't let me shave my legs, so I'll come back to civilization looking like a gorilla!"**

**She pouted and leaned against the window, watching the passing forest become a blur.**

_"_**I could use a drink right about now…"**

**The cab traveled along the narrow path carved up the side of a mountain. At the top they came to a stop at giant rusty metal gates. The driver leaned out the window and pushed the intercom button.**

"**Hey! I brought another Loony for the Bin, ha ha!"**

"**You jerk! This is rehab, I'm not fuckin' crazy!"**

**The gates squealed as they slowly began to open, Sakura's eyes widened as they drove up the lengthy drive way.**

**A massive 4 story brick building loomed in front getting closer. The facility was surrounded by majestic oaks, evergreens and red woods, there were no fences but she could see trails and paths carved out in the ground. To the right in the far background she could see a lake with a dock surrounded by wooden cabins.**

"**I thought this was going to be like prison, but it looks more like summer camp."**

**The cabdriver helped Sakura take her bags to the front steel bolted doors…**

**Looking back to the cabins by the lake, she heard a loud piercing scream..**

"**Actually, I take it back; this doesn't look to good…"**

**As the doors opened Sakura was greeted by a woman with long, layered black hair and blood red eyes, beside her was a man in a lab coat with an eye patch and fly-away silver hair.**

"**Welcome to the Oakwood Rehabilitation Center. My name is Kurenai and this next to me is Dr.Hatake."**

"**Call me Kakashi."**

"**I believe you are Sakura Haruno?"**

"**Yeah, that's me"**

"**Please come in." **

**Dragging her bags in ,she looked around the main entrance room, there were chairs and a table or two but other than that the place was bare. They led her down a dimly lit hallway and into a waiting room/ receptionist area where there was an elderly Japanese woman behind the counter.**

"**Hello Obaa-san."**

"**Good evening Kurenai, new guest?"**

"**Oh yes, this is Sakura Haruno, she'll be staying with us for about 6 months."**

"**WHAT!? I'm suppost to live here for 6 months! My mom told me I was only gonna be here for 3 weeks, there must be some sort of mistake!?"**

**Kurenai looked down at the clipboard she was holding.**

"**Nope, you've been signed in and paid for 6 months of detoxification, therapy and psychoanalysis…but if we see major progress, we might be able to release you early."**

**Sakura couldn't get the look of shock off her face, how could her parents do this to her? She wasn't addicted…well, she wasn't about to prostitute herself for her fix. She was usually very responsible…except for that one time she woke up with Ino under a bridge in Queens, not knowing what day it was. She knew how to handle herself and her own 'problems', she didn't need all of these people telling her how to run her life. **

"**By the look on your face, I see that you lack some communication with your parents, we can talk about it in the group therapy sessions"**

**Sakura turned to stare down the one eyed doctor, throwing her bags at his feet.**

"**I don't need therapy! I have control of my life! And I'm not as fucked up as most of the people in here think I am!"**

"**Ah…but that's what you think…Sakura, if you don't mind me asking, how much do you weight?"**

"**What? Why?...I don't know."**

"**Well, you have a petit frame for an 18 year old, your about what, 5'6"-5'7", lanky and yet you look no more than 98 pounds…when on a healthy average you should be a good 20 pounds heavier."**

"**Don't criticize my weight, that's none of your business!"**

"**Ah…but if it concerns your health then it is."**

**Awkward silence**

"**Look, I'm just tired, it was a long cab ride, can you just take me to my room and I'll call my parents in the morning to straighten this out."**

"**That sounds good."**

**Sakura followed Kurenai down another hall that led to a pair of elevators. Pushing the button they waited.**

"**Just a quick lay-out, the first floor is the waiting room, reception wing and lecture hall. The second floor is staff quarters and the cafeteria, the third floor is a small library and where majority of the patients reside and the fourth floor is detoxification and the medical unit."**

"**What about those cabins by the lake?"**

"**Oh! Those are for solitude or those special patients that need isolation, this isn't just a rehab for drugs, some of these kids have some real problems so a couple are padded cells…you need to be careful if your ever walking around them."**

"…**.Okay…"**

**The hallways on the third floor were so clean, white and brightly lit that it hurt. Sakura's skin began to itch, it smelt funny here and it reminded her of a hospital. She followed Kurenai through a maze of hall ways; left, right, left, left again, until they came to room 3-k.**

"**Here we are, oh yes, before I let you in, I forgot to tell you that you will be rooming with two other girls-"**

"**What! I don't want to interact with freaks and psychos!"**

"**That's not a nice thing to say, just be nice to them and they'll be nice to you. These girls have been here for awhile and they can show you the ropes." **

**Kurenai opened the door with a key and ushered Sakura in, all of the lights were off except for one. It was a spacious room, four beds, bedside tables with lamps, dresser drawers and a small full bath room in the back. Sakura chose the bed closest to the window and put her bags underneath it.**

"**Good night Sakura, I'll see you in the morning for breakfast." **

**The door shut and was followed by a click.**

**Curious, Sakura walked over and turned on the handle to test it, not to her surprise, she was locked in.**

**Feeling eyes on the back of her head she turned around to see a girl about her age sitting up in the bed closest to the door. She had dark brown hair up in two messy buns and was silently staring at her as she rubbed her arms.**

**Looking down Sakura saw that her forearms were covered in long thin and thick scars**

"**Hey…" she said, already knowing that those scars were self inflicted**

"**Are you cold? Do you want one of my blankets, I have an extra one?"**

**The girl simply shook her head and turned away, getting back under her blanket.**

**Sakura sighed "So much for progress.."**

**She changed into a large flannel shirt and boxers and climbed into her own bleach-cleaned twin bed. It wasn't that bad, over on the right side the bed got softer so she cuddled closer to the wall**

**"...Sweet dreams"**

**Sakura turned in the direction of the masocist girl, who was now facing her with a small grin on her face  
ignoring her comment, she closed her eyes and willfully slipped into the darkness..**

**#$&$$#**

**i've only managed to come across a small handfull of GOOD SakuraxGaara rehab fics.  
i liked the concept and will try to write a decent one.  
like the kind of story i've always wanted to read, but could never find...so i'm doin' it myself!**

**CHAPTER#2 ; MEET THE INMATES**

**_love & peace_**

**_Harper_**


	2. Chapter 2

Im really sorry guys, I started college this last year and was just so overwhelmed along with other drama in my life. But now, im not making any promises on updates, it is summer so I'll have more time to write but when I go back up to New York Im going to be moving into a new house and taking summer courses. I'll try to stay connected with this story as much as possible because I have so many ideas; I just have to type them all out. ^_^

"SAVE THE DINOSAURS!!!!"

**Rehab: Over the Edge Chapter 2**

"**MEET THE INMATES"**

"Hey new girl, wake up…..your gonna miss breakfast"

Sakura awoke the second time to more bright lights and a hand roughly shaking her shoulder

"hmmmm? What time is it?"

" 9:15, breakfast ends at 10.."

"Uugh, I don't need food, let me go back to sleep"

" Fine, starve, common Hinata we're gonna be late"

" Hinata?...who the…wait…where am I?!"

Shooting up in bed Sakura looked at her surroundings. The bleached white walls and open windows pouring light hurt her eyes. By the door her gaze was meet with a glance by another pair of eyes. The masochist girl with the messy buns was leading a girl with bangs covering her eyes by the hand out of the room.

"Wait, I'll come with you, just let me put on some pants first."

********************

Down the stairs and around the corner on the second floor the trio walked into a long room with a path down the middle and rows of tables on either side. At the very end of the room was a small buffet style breakfast.

Piling her plate with burnt waffles Sakura turned to find a table to sit at. She saw Masochist Girl and Hinata at one of the back tables off to the right. Sitting with her back to the wall so she could survey the inhabitants of the room, she began to liberally pour syrup over her waffles.

"Sooo…uhh, how long have you been here, uhh…"

"My name is Tenten.."

"Tenten?" Sakura stuffed some waffle into her mouth "Whab knd ob nab ss dab?" (what kind of name is that)

"I was born in Beijing but I was adopted when I was two and I've been living in New York since then. I came to Oakwood about 5 years ago."

"MMmm…and uhh, the scars?" Sakura asked bluntly

"Oh, these?" Tenten looked down at her marred arms "I'd been doing this for a while, I fell on glass once when I was little and cut my arm, but I didn't even realize it until my mom saw and started screaming, then later when I was 13 I gashed my leg hopping a fence, the amount of blood I lost stained my white socks completely red but I didn't even feel anything and that's when I realized that I was numb"

Sakura just started at Tenten in silence, chewing.

"So I've been cutting myself just to make sure that I'm really human, to try and feel something but I've grow to like it plus I heal pretty fast."

Sakura choked on her waffle a little, then turned to Hinata while wiping her mouth  
"What about you Miss Bangs?"

Hinata made no move to reveal her face or talk; she just blushed and hung her head a little lower to her cereal bowl.

"Oookay?" Sakura looked to Tenten for an answer

"Hinata doesn't talk…ever."

"Ever?"

"She's never said anything to me, so I highly doubt she would talk to you. I've known her for a while and she doesn't really need words, I can tell what she wants by her body language."

Sakura thought to herself "_Uuh, why me? I get stuck with Slashy Mc Cut-Pants and Silent Bob, if everybody here is like this, I think I'm just gonna stay in my room all day_."

Sakura scanned the cafeteria and was slightly repulsed as she saw the characters that surrounded her. It was just like high school but worse; the clique of goth/emo looking kids where the boys wore more makeup than the girls. They all had identical scars across their wrists

The bleach blonde long island girls that all wore uggs no matter what season, they were chain-smoking close to the nearest open window. Surely they were all here because it was the fashionable thing to do.

The hippie kids that wreaked of pot with dreads and tie-dye shirts took up two tables and any of the open space around the tables was used for a hacky-sack game.

It was a typical rehab, with people of all ages, some looked like they had been living here all their lives and others looked like they were sent here by their parents who caught them smoking a cigarette for the first time

But as Sakura continued to scan the room one person stood out from the rest.

"Who's that blonde boy with the scratch marks on his face?" She directed towards Tenten.

"Oh, Naruto?"

Sakura noticed that Hinata quickly glanced up at the mention of that name but then she just as quickly glanced back down to her Lucky Charms.

"Naruto's been here longer than I have, he's got a nasty case of Bi-polarity. If he's got a smile on his face, which he usually does, he's completely harmless. But sometimes the weirdest things will make him snap and his eyes literally go red when he switches. I've seen one of his fits before and it took 9 security guys to hold him down."

Sakura looked back to the boy with blonde shaggy hair that was sitting alone yet surrounded by a stack of empty plates and was currently trying to stuff 3 whole waffles into his mouth at once. She couldn't imagine him doing any damage.

"I think the only one here at this rehab that could take Naruto down would have to be Gaara."

"Gaara? Who the hell is that?"

"No one ever sees him, he's mostly under maximum security and he sleeps in the padded cabin cells by the lake."

"What the fuck is wrong with this kid? He sounds like he should be in prison than a rehab, what if he gets loose?"

"It happened once before, 2 years ago he used to live on the top floor in this building but he broke free from his medical cell. The entire rehab was on lock down for 3 days before they caught him and sedated him but while he was out he fought most of the security staff and broke 15 legs, 23 arms, 4 noses and dislocated the director's jaw."

The girls had gotten up from their table and were putting their plates in the bins that workers took into the kitchen.  
As they walked out of the cafeteria they passed a big window that allowed Sakura to above the trees to the cabins by the lake.

With a slight shudder she turned to Tenten, "What's wrong with him?"

"Everything"

****************************************

"All right everybody! Thank you for coming to group therapy today. We have a new member in our circle, so everybody play nice and make her feel welcomed."

Sakura turned and gave Kakashi a dirty glare from her seat in the circle. She couldn't believe that she was here in a rehab surrounded by…..these…people. She would still be in bed if Kurenai didn't come into her room and physically drag her out.

"Well Sakura" Kakashi continued "Seeing that your new here, why don't you introduce yourself and then we'll go around the circle so you can become acquainted with everyone else."

Sakura's eyes scanned the room, the only person she knew was Hinata who was hunching her shoulders and looking down at her hands. Tucking a lock of faded pink hair behind her ears she crossed her arms and leaned forward in her chair.

"My name is Sakura Haruno, I'm from New York City and I'm 17 years old and I've been asking you guys all day if I could call my parents but everyone of authority seems pretty resistant….i wonder why?" she said with an annoyed squint in her eyes.

Leaning back into her chair she looked at Kakashi with a defiant expression on her face.

Kakashi just shoved his left hand into his lab coat pocket and used his right to scratch his head in an uncomfortable fashion.

"Ok then…uhhh lets just start to the left of Sakura, just go around and say your names please."

Halfway around the circle they hit a block of silence. All eyes went to Hinata who was playing with her fingers, her hands were slightly shaking.

"It's okay Kakashi I know her, Hinata's my roommate."

"Oh Good, we'll just continue then"

***********************

"Now this is what I call therapy."

Sakura was alone lying in an open grass field watching the clouds in the middle of one of the many forests that surrounded the Oakwood Rehab Center. She smiled to herself as she remembered how she got out of her therapy session from hell. She didn't think that simply asking to go to the bathroom and never coming back would actually work but it did.

There was no way that Kakashi was going to get her to sit there and listen to everyone else's problems, some of these kids were really fucked up; Zach and Jessica were Heroin junkies, the weird looking kid named Lee was a Juicer (steroids), Choji belonged in a fat camp and Sakura didn't wait to hear whatever was wrong with Hinata.

She crossed her arms behind her head and closed her eyes turning over in the soft grass. "It's not like she was going to talk anyways." she thought out loud.

"Do you have multiple personalities or do you always just talk to yourself?"

Sakura jumped about a foot and turned around to find Naruto lying in the grass about 2 feet from her. She sat up and clutched her chest trying to regulate her breathing.

"You scared the shit outta me! How the hell did you sneak up on me?!"

"I have ninja skills" (HaHa) Naruto leaned his head back and chuckled looking so carefree. "I snuck out of my Shrink Session, what did you get out of?"

"Group Therapy-"

"Oh, that's easy! Who's your teacher?"

" Dr. Kakashi-"

"Even easier! Kakashi and I are like this." Naruto had held up his hand in which he crossed his middle and index finger. "Though it's easy to sneak out of Group Therapy it's even more fun to just make up crazy stories and freak everyone out."

As he laughed to himself he started to pick at the wild flowers that grew in the open field.

Sakura laughed too and felt that she was relaxing around this kid. She remembered what Tenten said and had judged for herself that he was harmless. She layed back down and crossed her arms over her stomach. "What did you come out here for?"

Naurto looked up from where he was braiding wild daisies and dandelions into a chain. "I always come out here, it's peaceful to watch the clouds."

With that statement said they both looked up and watched the sky in comfortable silence for the next couple of minutes. Naruto leaned over and placed the finished flower wreath on Sakura's hair.

"Aww, thank you Nar-"

"Shh!"

Naruto reached over and swiftly covered Sakura's mouth with his hand while pulling her lower into the grass. He had moved into stealth mode so fast Sakura didn't know what was going on.

"Security is coming to find us, keep your head down and run for the forest, if we can get back to our rooms without them finding us they can't prove that we did anything wrong."

Sakura looked up towards the direction of the huge brick building and saw 5 large men in scrubs scanning the area for them. She and Naruto ran as quick as they could into the nearby brush.

As they watched the security enter the open field and start looking for the 'fugitives' Sakura couldn't help but stifle a giggle of excitement. Naruto gave her a quizzical look.

"Heh-heh, this reminds me of the time that Ino and I were at this party in the Lower West Side and it got busted by the cops. I had to drag Ino out of the bathroom window and she could hardly walk in her heels because she was so damn drunk!"

"That sounds like fantastic but lets focus here, you go and hide by the cabins, this would be easier if your hair wasn't pink, I'm gonna travel by tree and try to lead them away from you. Wait until the coast is clear then run back to your room, ok?"

Sakura noticed that as he was giving her instructions, the smiling boy was gone and had been replaced with a serious man who had an assassin's glint in his eye.

They nodded in agreement then Sakura watched in amazement as Naruto scaled 20 feet up a nearby oak in about 11 seconds. He then proceeded to jump and climb from branch to branch showing no fear of heights or gravity.

Security was more than halfway across the field towards her and Sakura took this as the cue to bolt towards the cabins by the lake. She ran from giant tree to giant tree using them as cover until she reached the water.

"Hey John! I think I saw something over there, check by the lake"

Panicking Sakura ran to the nearest cabin, tried the handle and was surprised to find that it opened. She threw herself inside and closed the door as quickly and quietly as she could.

The lighting inside was very dim being that the only tiny window was in the roof. Sakura slowly looked around and only saw darkness and what seemed to be a dirty blanket and tattered book on the floor.

Taking small steps she backed away from the door only to bump into something…something solid and warm.

An arm encircled her waist bringing her closer and a hand came over her mouth quieting her scream.

"Be still" was the whispered command from the deep voice behind her

Sakura's eyes widened in fear but she didn't utter a sound. In the silence she heard muffled footsteps right outside the door

"Hey Mike, I don't see anyone around here, did you catch anything?"

"No but we are by Gaara's cabin, do you think-?"

"John, nobody in their right mind would even try to talk to Gaara."

Sakura tried to loosen her captors hold and turn around to look at him. If this really was the infamous Gaara she didn't know what she would do. The strong hands around her body only tightened when she squirmed and she felt shallow hot breaths by her ear.

There was a sharp knock on the door.

"Umm, excuse me Gaara, has anybody com-"

"Go away, I'm reading" came the terse reply from the voice that was right behind Sakura.

"O-okay, sorry to bother you."

And with that the footsteps slowly faded away. As soon as he was sure they were gone Gaara immediately released Sakura and pushed her away from him. Finally freed Sakura was able to take a look at the boy she had heard so much about.

He was about 5'9", lean, skinny and pale, he stood slouching with his feet apart and arms at his sides glaring at her with eyes that looked to be charcoal rimed but when Sakura took a step closer she realized that the left looked more like a black eye and the other just had dark heavy bags from what could only be from sleep depravation.

Her step closer had caused him to counter with a step back and a harder glare.

"Um-m Hi" Sakura's voice was shaking a little bit.  
"Thanks for…umm, helping me out"

Gaara simply looked at her with disinterest, blinked and then went back to his corner under the window to continue reading as if she wasn't even there.

Sakura noticed that when he sat in the patch of sunlight his dark burgundy hair flashed with natural fire red highlights. He curled up with his back against the wall, wrapped the blanket around his bare feet and resumed on the page that he left off.

Sakura didn't want to disturb him anymore and he didn't seem like the type who appreciated company.

"Ok, then….I guess I'll just be leaving now, thanks again"

Sakura groped in the semi-darkness for the door handle, gripping it she meet resistance; she tried again rattling the handle. Her breathing cut short as she mentally panicked.

She turned slowly with her hand still on the door handle and meet Gaara's expression, which was mild annoyance. Before she could ask Gaara answered her.

"They only open from the outside and I don't know when the next nurse is coming by to give me my medicine.."

"So.. I'm stuck in here?"

"As am I"

Sakura put her back to the door, closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.  
"How do I always get myself into these situations?" she said quietly to herself.  
Looking back across the small cabin to the boy that was sitting on the dirty floor immersed in his book she hesitantly approached him.

Not wanting to be in the darkness she sat about 4 feet away from him at the edge of the patch of fading sunlight. Bringing her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around them she turned her head to look at Gaara only to find that he was staring at her.

The look in his eyes was distant and guarding but it seemed that he could not deny curiosity. Sakura unsure of what to do in this uncomfortable situation gave him a small timid smile. His reaction was a slight twitch in his left eye and then he looked back to his book.

Sakura let out another sigh and put her chin on her knees looking at her feet and dirty sandals. That action brought some flowers out of her hair. Naruto's wreath must have managed to hang on as she had ran through the forest. Picking up a wilted dandelion she wondered if Naruto had made it back to his room safely.

She put both hands into her hair and shook them gently trying to free herself of the flora. Small flowers and leaves fell around her on the floor. When she lifted her head back up her shoulder length hair was sticking up all over and framing her face like a pink halo.

"Did I get them all out?" Sakura asked turning her body towards Gaara and pulling on her bangs.

He slowly put down his book and gave her a look that could freeze hell.  
"I'm trying to read, would you mind keeping silent."

"Oh! Sorry" Sakura said shrinking back against the padded wall

She began to chew her nails debating her dilemma, "_You should never show weakness or fear in front of a wild animal_" she thought to herself remembering the nature documentaries she had watched on the discovery channel.

In her situation she felt like she was locked in a room with a deadly tiger rather than a pale, skinny boy with a deadly attitude. This was nothing like dealing with the sexual harassing taxi drivers or the crazy scary bums in the city. What was it about him that strangely arous-No, no, intimidated her?

"_No fear_" she said quietly to herself then looked towards Gaara who was deep into his book, eyes rapidly scanning the pages.

Sakura held her breath and scooted closer then closer again until she was only a foot way from him. For someone with such a cold glare she could feel the heat emanating off of his curled body.

"Fear and Loathing?" she asked stupidly seeing the cover of his book

Gaara ignored her

"mmm…before coming here I watched this really cool documentary about Hunter., back when he was traveling with the Hell's Angels. They just did a lot of acid, rode their bikes and beat everybody up….have you read any of his other works?"

Sakura now had her head dangerously close to Gaara's, she had leaned in so much that she could look over his shoulder and read the words on the page. She looked up to his face and cautious emerald meet guarded jade. They sat frozen staring at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity.

He really did have the look of a caged animal in his bruised eyes.

"What happened to you?" Sakura asked quietly as she slowly raised her hand towards his black eye.

Just as her fingertips barely grazed his face, Sakura found herself flat on her back with Gaara above her, book thrown aside, his hands wrapped around her wrists in a vise-like grip pinning her to the floor.

He had thrown her directly into the patch of sunlight and with him over her she could only see his dark silhouette and yet just his eyes glowed jade.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone!" Gaara said through his clenched teeth

He took a breath to say something else but the air left his body as he began to twitch violently almost like a seizure. His eyes rolled back in his head and his grip on Sakura tightened. Panicking Sakura struggled to free herself, which only made her rub up against Gaara's heated body.

"I'm sorry I upset you but you need to calm down" Sakura said quickly still trying to break free

Their bodies and faces were only inches apart and both of them were struggling for air. Gaara didn't look that heavy but his weight was constricting on her lungs.

Finally his shaking began to die down and he was taking big gulps of oxygen. All Sakura could do was wait until he released her, she didn't want him to have another panic-attack.

In their current position he was basically straddling her with one leg over her thighs and his torso was resting upon hers. His hands were still holding her wrists keeping her in place.

Gaara finally raised his head to look Sakura in the eye; he must have bit his tongue during his fit because his mouth looked like an open wound. His lips were stained with his blood.

Sakura watched as the red from his mouth pooled onto his lower lip and as if in slow motion she watched it fall and felt it land directly in the very left corner of her lips.

Gaara watched in silence as more of his blood began to fall on Sakura, it gathered in the corner of her mouth and then dripped down the side of her face, rolling down her neck into the hollow of her collarbone.

His eyes widened and Sakura could see his pupils dilating; his tongue ran across his lips only spreading the blood more onto the lower half of his face. Sakura's breathing became shallow as Gaara lowered his head closer towards her face

She watched in horror as his bloody tongue crept out of his mouth and began to slowly lick at her lips and the side of her face. He kept his eyes glued to hers and Sakura could clearly see that he was not the Gaara that was with her before his seizure.

His clear jade eyes were no longer guarded; they held the gleam of a predator. Sakura could only whimper as Gaara let go of one of her hands but only so he could turn her chin up to give him better access to her neck.

His tongue turned into his lips pressing full on to her delicate skin. She could feel him licking and sucking away the blood that he had spilt onto her and the excess heat of his body wasn't helping the strange feelings that were burning in her stomach.

"_What the fuck?! Is he a vampire? Why didn't anybody tell me this?!"_ Sakura thought franticly to herself. She could hear his breathing become more and more ragged and his hands had finally let go of her wrists but they were now moving down her side and caressing her waist and arms.

He then suddenly wrapped his arms around her tightly, squeezing the air out of her and brought his lips to her ear.

"It's been so long since I was outside…and you smell and taste like freedom…" was deep raspy whisper that sounded like a completely different person.

Sakura's eyes widened and she tried to free her arms to push him away. He was sending chills all over her body and she wasn't sure if she wanted him to stop but her instincts were telling her to flee.

Then just as suddenly Gaara's grip on her loosened and he gently brought his forehead to hers. Closing his eyes he inhaled deeply taking in her scent; wild flowers and the faint hint of incense. (nag champa) his eyes snapped open and he focused on Sakura with such intensity.

"What is your name?" he whispered, his lips only an inch from hers.

"…..Sakura…." she whispered

Then all of a sudden there was bright light and screaming.

*********

A/N hokay everybody, that is the end of chapter 2

Hope you all enjoyed it, sorry it took me so long to post it, I have no internet at my house therefore I have to mooch it from Panera or I have to come to my mom's office….

Some quick statements just to clear things up;

no Gaara is not a vampire, he's just the type of guy who gets turned on by blood

I know in the first chapter I made the accident of making Sakura's birthday 1989 but that would make her 20, I want her to be 17 so she should be born in 1991/ I had started this story in 2008. Every time I go into my chapter edit to try and change that it wont let me. Aauuugh!

Gaara is 19

okay if you have any questions or I messed up something just let me know, im gonna start on chapter 3…which I haven't come up with a title yet.

Take care and thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Well, well, well, lets get started now shall we?  
Unfortunately there wont be as much Gaara goodness in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

REHAB; OVER THE EDGE

CHAPTER 3; A QUESTION OF SANITY

Sakura could not remember the last time she had been in a more embarrassing situation. She was sitting alone on her bed in the room that she shared with Tenten and Hinata thinking about what had just happened. She rubbed her neck and closed her eyes, when she looked at her hand it was stained red.

****************

The Bright light was caused by the door of the cabin being opened followed by 2 nurses and 3 guards. The Screaming was caused by the nurses when they saw Gaara on top of Sakura in what looked to be an act of vampirism.

Sakura had looked calmly at the nurses then she looked up at Gaara, he was fixated on her with the lower half of his face stained red. He gave her a devilish smile and refused to break eye contact even when the guards ran over and dragged him off of her.

It was only when they had him pinned up against one of the padded walls did Gaara show any sign of realizing what was going on. He seemed to snap out of a spell and he looked around the room like it was his first time seeing everybody.

The nurses had rushed over to Sakura and were asking her if "she was okay" and "how did she get in there?" they checked her neck over and over but found no wound.

One of the guards agreed to take her back to the building and she was escorted straight to Kurenai's office where she was asked a million questions and was sentenced to extra therapy no matter how much she said, "she didn't need it" and that "she was okay, goddamnit!"

So now here she was, safe, back in her room and yet it was the last place that she wanted to be. Tenten and Hinata were at dinner and Sakura was using her alone time to sort out what was going on inside her head.

It was only her second day in this hell-hole and she had already met the devil himself. Sakura got up from her bed and went to the bathroom that was attached to her shared room.

Turning on the light and looking at the medium sized mirror that hung above the sink she could hardly recognize the face that she saw. Her eyes looked sunken in from withdrawal and her skin was sickly white that contrasted horribly with the dark red that was spread across her face, neck and upper chest.

Her hands were shaking as she picked up a rag from the rack on the wall and began to scrub away the blood. By the time she was done washing, the rag and the porcelain sink were stained pink but she left it that way, not bothering to clean the bathroom and turned off the light leaving the mess behind.

She proceeded to take off all of her clothes except for her underwear and crawled into her bed by the window. Wrapping herself in blankets she looked up at the clock that hung on the wall opposite of her; it was 9:37pm, dinner was over and Tenten and Hinata should be coming back soon.

All of the resident's doors in the rehab automatically locked at 10:00pm sharp and they didn't open again until 8 in the morning. All of the windows in the rooms, hallways and any of the common rooms; including the cafeteria and library had bars on them

The fluorescent lights in every room were too bright and they made the tile in the hallways and bathrooms reflect up to your eyes.

"Everything is so fucking white." she whispered

Sakura curled up into a tighter ball in her bed and closed her eyes

"Everything hurts……..why am I talking to myself?........"

Sakura's eyes snapped open to the sound of the doorknob turning, Tenten and Hinata walked in, Tenten was quietly talking to Hinata who looked distracted.

"Oh Sakura, I didn't know you would be in here?"

Hinata just looked at her in silence

"I got back about an hour ago, how was dinner?"

"It was alright, but when you've had the same meatloaf for the past 5 years it all starts to blur….how are you?"

"Mmm, so I take it you know what happened?"

"Yea a nurse came to us at dinner and told us about you…..are you sure your okay, he didn't hurt you did he?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I just feel really weak but I think it's just from my body's cravings and the withdrawal…."

"Don't worry we'll help you get over it." Tenten said coming to hover over Sakura.

"Please don't touch me." She filched away at the closeness.

"I wasn't going to" Tenten took a step back "I guess I'll just let you sleep it off, I know that today was weird but tomorrow is another day, your gonna be ok."

"Yea….Thanks." Sakura turned over so she was facing the wall. For some strange reason she really did feel very tired, almost drained and her whole body felt very heavy, especially her eyelids. And that was her last thought right as she fell asleep.

*****************

Normally Sakura's sleeping schedule consisted of about 12 hours for every 3 days, so about 4 hours every day, but that was only because she would stay up to party for three days straight, plus the amount of drugs she normally did also helped to keep her awake. She only took naps in-between days and then on the fourth day or so she would sleep straight for 24 hours, wake up and do it allover again.

This was the first time in a long time that Sakura had actually gone to bed when her body told her to, so her mind was still going over everything that had happened to her in the past couple of days.

She woke up the next morning in a cold sweat; her dream had gone something like this;

_She was at another party at Ino's apartment, the place was packed but nobody had a face; no eyes, nose or mouth but they had hair and she could still hear their voices when they talked to her. _

_She was walking through the rooms searching, searching for familiarity, comfort, something safe. That's when she saw it sitting on the counter in the kitchen across the room from her. Running through the haze of marijuana smoke she reached for the bottle of Jack._

_Oh that trusty Jack Daniels, he would never let her down. But as she reached for it she found herself falling too far and to fast just like Alice; down the Rabbit hole._

_And that's when she landed in the amber sea that stung her eyes and her nose, she looked up and realized that somehow she shrunk and was inside of the bottle.  
Struggling to swim to the surface she could feel her breath escaping her and what felt like hands wrapping around her throat. She started to sink into the dark amber depths._

_Looking above her all she could see were these bright jade eyes glowing in the darkness._

And that's when she woke up screaming throwing the sheets off herself and waking up Tenten and Hinata. Tenten was out of bed first, she came over and picked up Sakura's blanket off of the floor and put it back over her naked shoulders.

"I need to call my parents, I need to get out of here!" Sakura choked

Hinata got out of her bed and came over to Sakura putting her small hand over Sakura's shaking one. This was the first time that Sakura had true eye contact with the quiet girl, when she saw Hinata's pale grey eyes she immediately got the message delivered in silence;

"_It's okay, your safe, everything is going to be alright…"_

Sakura began to breath easier feeling the presence of her roommates. Looking over at the clock she saw that it was only 7:04 am, there was still a lot of time before the doors opened but she didn't want to go back to sleep.

"I'm okay now, thanks guys, go back to bed."

Tenten and Hinata gave her weary looks but went back to their beds and pulled their sheets over their heads. Sakura on the other hand adjusted the pillow under her head and let her hands rest on her stomach and proceeded to stare at the ceiling for the next 56 minutes.

"_I have to see him again."_ She thought to herself

*************

Two weeks had passed by and Sakura didn't have anytime to go back to the forest because she was under constant surveillance. The extra therapy was ridiculous and the doctors here had no clue what they were talking about.

She refused to answer any of their stupid questions and it was so hard for her to sit still in their offices because she had begun to develop the constant itching and shakes that most addicts get when they are weaning themselves off of drugs.

Tenten and Hinata were very patient with her when she would wake them up in the middle of the night from her strange dreams. The only other person that had made this week bearable were her few chance meetings with Naruto.

He always had a smile on his face and at the end of the first week he had begun to sit with Sakura and her roommates at meal times. The first time he came over and took a seat next to Hinata because it was the only one open, Hinata choked on her juice and then excused herself with a small bow to get napkins, she was bright red.

"What's up with her?" Naruto asked with and amused expression pointing at Hinata's direction after she left.

"Oh! She likes y-" Sakura was cut off with an elbow jab from Tenten who interrupted her. "She's just really shy and anybody that she doesn't know makes her nervous." The two girls shared a laugh while Naruto looked on oblivious.

Sakura took up Naruto's advice for group therapy and when it was her turn to share she would create these wild crazy stories that involved her and Ino going on some insane adventure in the city. Sometimes she found that she was telling the truth because she really had done some dangerous things in her life.

Her daily meetings with Kurenai, who was now her personal counselor, were spent with her arguing and demanding that she spoke to her parents.

"I want my damn phone call!" Sakura had said raising her voice and gripping the arms of the chair that she sat in to keep herself from scratching at her arms.

"I told you that you'll have to wait until Saturday." Kurenai told her with a calm voice. "It's pointless for you to argue with me, you know I can't change the rules."

Finally the Saturday of the first week came and Sakura was ushered into a small phone booth at the end of one of the halls in a guarded office.

Ring ring ring ring….ring ring ring ring…ring ring ring ri-

"Hello?"

"Mom! It's me Sakura!"

"Sakura sweetheart how are you, are you better yet?"

"Mom I've told you before, I'm perfectly fine and I need you to get me out of here or at least shorten my stay, you can't actually expect me to live here for 6 months! What the hell were you thinking?"

"Baby, rehab was your father's idea, his lawyer did all of the paper work, you would need to talk to him about it."

"Then let me talk to dad, this is all just a big misunderstanding, you have to get me out of here, I don't belong here mom!"

"He's not here right now. He's at some big conference in California, Sakura dear, I'm late for my hair appointment, but I'm happy to hear that your having fun, I'll talk to you later. Bye-bye"

"MOM, MOM, WAIT!-" 'click'

"mom?.............fuck!"

***************

"This place is a fucking prison! How do they expect anybody to get better if they're in prison?!?" Sakura was complaining out loud to Hinata who had been sitting on her bed drawing.

"What they did to Tenten was unacceptable!"

Tenten's class of Group Therapy had an outing in the woods to do some out door meditation. On the way to an open field a wayward twig accidentally scratched her arm.

Apparently the cut was deep enough that it began to ooze blood and the teacher noticed it before Tenten did. She called some guards who came a put Tenten into a straight jacket so she would not be tempted to harm herself.

This all happened in front of the whole class and then they dragged her away to the medical unit so they could heal her.

"She told me that she hasn't cut herself in over 3 months and I believe her, how could they do that to her? I'm sure that she wouldn't have done anything to herself."

Hinata nodded in agreement, gave a sad sigh and then went back to her drawing.  
Sakura jumped off of her bed and went over to Hinata's side of the room.

"You've been working on that for a while, can I see it?"

Hinata blushed a little bit, then slowly turned over here sketch book to show Sakura an animated drawing of herself. On the one page there was a merge of three drawings; Sakura laying down, sitting up leaning against the wall with her legs over the edge of the bed and one with her arms around her and her head looking to the side off into the distance.

"Wow! These are really good! Can I see some of your other stuff?"

Hinata quickly shook her head and brought her sketchbook to her chest, protecting it.

"Okay, okay, you can show me when your ready….I'm sure your bored with listening to me bitch about life, we have an hour before dinner, lets go roam the halls, I'm tired of being in this damn room."

They ended up in the in the small library that was on the third floor. Sakura was still browsing the shelves and Hinata had already curled up into one of the armchairs and was quietly reading a biography on Salvador Dali.

Sakura had just come to the 'T's in the fiction section when she came across "Fear and Loathing" by Hunter.. She stared at it for a second before adding it to the pile of books in her hands.

*************

Dinner was disgusting as usual; watery pasta and a sad excuse for meatballs. Tenten was still being held in the medical unit and they probably wouldn't see her untill tomorrow.

On the plus side Naruto had sat at their table again and was able to make Hinata laugh and then blush a furious shade of red for realizing what she had done.

"Don't' hide your face! You look so cute when you smile!" Naruto exclaimed laughing at Hinata's embarrassment.

Sakura laughed along with them but in the back of her mind she kept thinking thoughts of the disturbed boy who was an enigma to her. She had to find some way to see him again.

Looking across the table at a smiling Naruto she formed an idea.

************

"Sakura! Are you sure about this? What if he tries to hurt you again?"

"That's what you're here for."

"But theirs no way I could take on Gaara by myself! He could kill me!"

"As long as you can distract him long enough I can run and get help, now come on we don't have much time!"

Sakura and Naruto were running through the forest towards the cabins by the lake, they were both skipping their group therapy to go along with Sakura's crazy plan to see Gaara again.

"If we get caught you so owe me!"

"I already owe you, but I think I know how im gonna pay you back-"

"How! Tell me!"

"I'll tell you after, now be quiet and watch the door, knock twice if it's time to bolt."

"Okay, okay, but please be careful, holler if you need me I'll be right outside."

Sakura nodded and then turned the handle, opening the door just enough so she could slip inside the small cabin. It was darker than she remembered and she had to move her bangs away from her eyes.

She scanned the small room and in his usual corner sat Gaara, who hadn't even bothered to look up at her when she had come into his room.

He just seemed to be sitting there staring off into space, back against the wall with his dirty blanket wrapped around him. The "Fear and Loathing" book was ripped to shreds and lay around his feet

Sakura took a bold step forward and called out his name. "Gaara?"

He didn't even blink. She walked cautiously towards him, stopping in front of him and then crouching down so she was eye level with him.

His usually guarded eyes were glazed over and Sakura noticed fresh bruises on his wrists, arms and throat and his black eye looked as if it had gotten worse. He had clearly just been given his "medication".

"What the hell did they do to you?" Sakura reached out to caress his face but caught herself when she noticed Gaara flinch.

"Can you hear me?" she asked as she stared into his dull jade eyes.  
"Gaara….it's me, Sakura."

At the sound of her name his eyes snapped to focus on her face but he made no other movements.

Sakura crossed her legs and sat a foot in front of him and they just stared at each other for a good minute. Then she had to break the silence when a strong itching spell came over her and the cabin was filled with the sound of nails scraping flesh.

Her skin felt like it was burning and no matter how hard she dug in her nails it was never satisfied. It's like the itch was under her skin, in her veins. Her blood was screaming.

Suddenly a cold pale hand was stretched out from the blanket and grabbed onto Sakura's wrist. The feel of cool skin against her raw arms relaxed her; she looked back up to Gaara's face and was taken back by the look in his eyes.

Jade orbs were pleading, scared and haunting.  
"Get me out of here…" he whispered

Sakura felt hot sympathy spread through her chest and she leaned in a little bit closer to him.  
"I have to get out of her myself and when I do, I'll take you with me."

Gaara looked at her with a flicker of hope and then her released her hand, curling back into himself. "Liar…" he mumbled

"Your just lying…like everybody else in this damn institute."

"No I wil-"

"Get out!"

"Gaara, if you-"

"Leave me alone…NOW!"

Sakura could see his weak frame shaking and was worried about another attack, so she quickly backed away. Standing up she reached into her small messenger bag and pulled out a book.

Gently she placed it at Gaara's feet. "I thought that if you liked Hunter, you would also like Brautigan." Sakura walked towards the door and looked back down at  
"In Watermelon Sugar"

"It's one of my favorites and it belongs to the library…. so try to take care of it."

She knocked on the door twice and Naruto quickly opened it from the outside pulled her out and shut the door behind him.

"So you made it out alive!"

"Yea….but he looked like he was about to have a break down again."

Right after she said that they both heard violent screaming and harsh banging coming from the cabin that she had just exited. It sounded as though Gaara was throwing his body against the padded walls of his cell.

Sakura was torn between going back inside to try and calm him and running far away but deep down she knew that she could do nothing for the troubled boy…..  
…yet.

**************

A/N- and we've come to the end of chapter 3, not particularly a cliff hanger but it leaves me with a good end to start a new chapter… ^_^

If any of you readers are fond of Hunter. S . Thompson I would recommend any works by Richard Brautigan. He became really famous in the 60's and he's just got a different way of looking at the world, which comes across in his writing.  
Plus I think he's hilarious

Coming soon to a fanfiction site near you;

CHAPTER #4; BREAK THROUGH

Take care until then

_Peace & love HarpersaruS_


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